Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprint data are now commonly collected using DNA sequencers. AFLP genotypes are still often scored by eye from such data - a time-consuming, error-prone and subjective process. We present a semi-automated method of genotyping sequencer-collected AFLPs at predefined fragment locations (loci) within the fingerprint. Our method uses thresholds of AFLP-polymerase chain reaction-product fluorescence intensity (peak height) in order to: (i) exclude AFLP loci that are likely to contribute high rates of error to data sets, and (ii) determine the AFLP phenotype (fragment presence or absence) at the retained loci. Error rate analysis is an integral part of this process and is used to determine optimal thresholds that minimize genotyping error, while maximizing the numbers of retained loci. We show that application of this method to a large AFLP data set allows genotype calls that are rapid, objective and repeatable, facilitating the extraction of reliable genotype data for molecular ecological studies.

DNA metabarcoding is a rapidly growing technique for obtaining detailed dietary information. Current metabarcoding methods for herbivory, using a single locus, can lack taxonomic resolution for some applications. We present novel primers for the second internal transcribed spacer of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS2) designed for dietary studies in Mauritius and the UK, which have the potential to give unrivalled taxonomic coverage and resolution from a short-amplicon barcode. In silico testing used three databases of plant ITS2 sequences from UK and Mauritian floras (native and introduced) totalling 6561 sequences from 1790 species across 174 families. Our primers were well-matched in silico to 88% of species, providing taxonomic resolution of 86.1%, 99.4% and 99.9% at the species, genus and family levels, respectively. In vitro, the primers amplified 99% of Mauritian (n = 169) and 100% of UK (n = 33) species, and co-amplified multiple plant species from degraded faecal DNA from reptiles and birds in two case studies. For the ITS2 region, we advocate taxonomic assignment based on best sequence match instead of a clustering approach. With short amplicons of 187–387 bp, these primers are suitable for metabarcoding plant DNA from faecal samples, across a broad geographic range, whilst delivering unparalleled taxonomic resolution.

Island species provide excellent models for investigating how selection and drift operate in wild populations, and for determining how these processes act to influence local adaptation and speciation. Here, we examine the role of selection and drift in shaping genomic and phenotypic variation across recently separated populations of Berthelot's pipit (Anthus berthelotii), a passerine bird endemic to three archipelagos in the Atlantic. We first characterized genetic diversity and population structuring that supported previous inferences of a history of recent colonizations and bottlenecks. We then tested for regions of the genome associated with the ecologically important traits of bill length and malaria infection, both of which vary substantially across populations in this species. We identified a SNP associated with variation in bill length among individuals, islands, and archipelagos; patterns of variation at this SNP suggest that both phenotypic and genotypic variation in bill length is largely shaped by founder effects. Malaria was associated with SNPs near/within genes involved in the immune response, but this relationship was not consistent among archipelagos, supporting the view that disease resistance is complex and rapidly evolving. Although we found little evidence for divergent selection at candidate loci for bill length and malaria resistance, genome scan analyses pointed to several genes related to immunity and metabolism as having important roles in divergence and adaptation. Our findings highlight the utility and challenges involved with combining association mapping and population genetic analysis in nonequilibrium populations, to disentangle the effects of drift and selection on shaping genotypes and phenotypes.

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On Lord Howe Island, speciation is thought to have taken place in situ in a diverse array of distantly related plant taxa (Metrosideros, Howea and Coprosma; Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 108, 2011, 13188). We now investigate whether the speciation processes were driven by divergent natural selection in each genus by examining the extent of ecological and genetic divergence. We present new and extensive, ecological and genetic data for all three genera. Consistent with ecologically driven speciation, outlier loci were detected using genome scan methods. This mechanism is supported by individualbased analyses of genotype-environment correlations within species, demonstrating that local adaptation is currently widespread on the island. Genetic analyses show that prezygotic isolating barriers within species are currently insufficiently strong to allow further population differentiation. Interspecific hybridization was found in both Howea and Coprosma, and species distribution modelling indicates that competitive exclusion may result in selection against admixed individuals. Colonization of new niches, partly fuelled by the rapid generation of new adaptive genotypes via hybridization, appears to have resulted in the adaptive radiation in Coprosma -supporting the 'Syngameon hypothesis'.

Dietary changes linked to the availability of anthropogenic food resources can have complex implications for species and ecosystems, especially when species are in decline. Here, we use recently developed primers targeting the ITS2 region of plants to characterize diet from faecal samples of four UK columbids, with particular focus on the European turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur), a rapidly declining obligate granivore. We examine dietary overlap between species (potential competition), associations with body condition in turtle doves and spatiotemporal variation in diet. We identified 143 taxonomic units, of which we classified 55% to species, another 34% to genus and the remaining 11% to family. We found significant dietary overlap between all columbid species, with the highest between turtle doves and stock doves (Columba oenas), then between turtle doves and woodpigeons (Columba palumbus). The lowest overlap was between woodpigeons and collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto). We show considerable change in columbid diets compared to previous studies, probably reflecting opportunistic foraging behaviour by columbids within a highly anthropogenically modified landscape, although our data for nonturtle doves should be considered preliminary. Nestling turtle doves in better condition had a higher dietary proportion of taxonomic units from natural arable plant species and a lower proportion of taxonomic units from anthropogenic food resources such as garden bird seed mixes and brassicas. This suggests that breeding ground conservation strategies for turtle doves should include provision of anthropogenic seeds for adults early in the breeding season, coupled with habitat rich in accessible seeds from arable plants once chicks have hatched.

It is now recognized that speciation can proceed even when divergent natural selection is opposed by gene flow. Understanding the extent to which environmental gradients and geographical distance can limit gene flow within species can shed light on the relative roles of selection and dispersal limitation during the early stages of population divergence and speciation. On the remote Lord Howe Island (Australia), ecological speciation with gene flow is thought to have taken place in several plant genera. The aim of this study was to establish the contributions of isolation by environment (IBE) and isolation by community (IBC) to the genetic structure of 19 plant species, from a number of distantly related families, which have been subjected to similar environmental pressures over comparable time scales. We applied an individual-based, multivariate, model averaging approach to quantify IBE and IBC, while controlling for isolation by distance (IBD). Our analyses demonstrated that all species experienced some degree of ecologically driven isolation, whereas only 12 of 19 species were subjected to IBD. The prevalence of IBE within these plant species indicates that divergent selection in plants frequently produces local adaptation and supports hypotheses that ecological divergence can drive speciation in sympatry.

Ecological speciation requires divergent selection, reproductive isolation and a genetic mechanism to link the two. We examined the role of gene expression and coding sequence evolution in this process using two species of Howea palms that have diverged sympatrically on Lord Howe Island, Australia. These palms are associated with distinct soil types and have displaced flowering times, representing an ideal candidate for ecological speciation. We generated large amounts of RNA-Seq data from multiple individuals and tissue types collected on the island from each of the two species. We found that differentially expressed loci as well as those with divergent coding sequences between Howea species were associated with known ecological and phenotypic differences, including response to salinity, drought, pH and flowering time. From these loci, we identified potential 'ecological speciation genes' and further validate their effect on flowering time by knocking out orthologous loci in a model plant species. Finally, we put forward six plausible ecological speciation loci, providing support for the hypothesis that pleiotropy could help to overcome the antagonism between selection and recombination during speciation with gene flow.